Reuben Wilson

Reuben Wilson (born April 9, 1935) is a jazz organist. He performs soul jazz and acid jazz, and is best known for his title track "Got to Get Your Own".

He was born in Mounds, Oklahoma and his family moved to Pasadena when he was 5. He played in Los Angeles with drummer Al Bartee, then moved to New York to begin a recording career. In addition to playing with jazz musicians Melvin Sparks and Willis Jackson, Wilson led the local band Wildare Express. He remains an active musician, and still resides in New York City.

Personal life

Wilson has been married twice. He has two children, Roderick Reuben Wilson (born November 22, 1957) and Reuben Reuel Wilson (born August 20, 1996). He lives in New York City. Roderick (his eldest son) is a professional drummer. Reuben (his youngest son) graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.

Discography

As leader

• On Broadway (Blue Note, 1968)
• Love Bug (Blue Note, 1969)
• Blue Mode (Blue Note, 1969)
• A Groovy Situation (Blue Note, 1970)
• Set Us Free (Blue Note, 1971)
• The Sweet Life (Groove Merchant, 1972)
• The Cisco Kid (Groove Merchant, 1974)
• Got To Get Your Own (Cadet, 1975; CD reissue: Dusty Groove, 2008)
• Live At SOB's - The Official Bootleg (Jazzateria, 1996)
• Organ Donor (Jazzateria, 1997)
• Down With it (Cannonball, 1998)
• Organ Blues (Jazzateria, 2002) featuring the Reuben Wilson/Bernard Purdie/Grant Green, Jr. line-up
• Boogaloo To The Beastie Boys (Scufflin', 2004)
• Fun House (Savant, 2005)
• Movin' On (Savant, 2006)
• Azure Te (18th & Vine, 2009)
• Revisited (American Showplace, 2011)

With The Godfathers of Groove (Reuben Wilson/Bernard Purdie/Grant Green, Jr.)

• The Masters of Groove - Meet Dr. No (Jazzateria, 2001)
• The Masters of Groove - Meet DJ-9 (Jazzateria, 2006)
• The Godfathers of Groove (18th & Vine, 2007)
• The Godfathers of Groove - 3 (18th & Vine, 2009)

As sideman

• New York Funkies - Hip Hop Bop! (Meldac [Japan], 1995) with Stanley Turrentine, Don Braden, David Weiss, Ed Cherry, Idris Muhammad
• Grant Green, Jr. - Jungle Strut (Venus, 1997)
• Melvin Sparks - What You Hear Is What You Get (Savant, 2001)
• Grant Green, Jr. - Introducing G.G. (Jazzateria, 2002)

Compilations

• Bad Stuff! (Groove Giants: A Specially Priced Two Record Set) (Groove Merchant, 1975) (reissues of The Sweet Life + The Cisco Kid) 2LP
• Blue Breakbeats (Blue Note, 1998) (compilation of Wilson's funkiest tracks from three of his albums: On Broadway, Love Bug, Blue Mode) CD
• Groove Grease: The Sweet Life/The Cisco Kid - The Groove Merchant Years (Connoisseur Collection, 2000) (reissues of The Sweet Life + The Cisco Kid) 2LP-on-1CD